Bands for wrapping buddings



Dec. 15, 1959 w. FLEISCHHAUER ,916, 52

BANDS FOR WRAPPING BUDDINGS Filed Jan. 23, 1958 6 m d m I I l a ll- 'l,3 AW M i 2 d INVENTOR WW5? Hawk/70:7?

BY imam;

ATTORNEKS United States Paten 2,916,852 BANDS FOR WRAPPING BUDDINGSWerner Fleischhauer, Hamberg-Berne, Germany Application January 23,1958, Serial No. 710,717 Claims priority, application Germany March1,1957 5 Claims. (Cl. 47-7) One of these methods used was to wrap thepoint of the bud with rafiia, which was often followed by applying waxor glue. This had certain disadvantages. First the rafiia must besorted, then the closing of the budding by wrapping and tying andsubsequently applying the glue required two dilferent steps which madenecessary much practice and time. This prevented a smooth operation,since the tier could not keep up with the'budder and it was uneconomicalto hire a second Worker. Fur-- thermore, on additional growth of thestem, the raffia wrapping caused binding of the bud, since it could notexpand. A close fit is necessary in-order for the bud to start to grow,and the raflia must hold .the bud tight to the understock, but due tothe binding elfect, the r'afiia wrapping must be removed after growth ofthe eye has begun. I

Due to 'the disadvantages in the use of rafiia,"other types of bindingshave been tried, such as rubber bindings, but these required the sameamount of labor. Some of these had to be worked off spools, but thosewere slo'wand fully as unsatisfateo'ry as'the rafiia; 1 It was alsoproposed to use a rubber bandage and to fasten it around the stem bystretching and tying, or by means of a small hook which would engage inthe relatively thick body of the rubber. The attempt was made to userubber which would last for years and could be reused, but the meansprovided for holding the bandage in place and the relatively thick andheavy body of the rubber prevented such device from being employedeconomically, whereby it has not come into any appreciable service up tothe present time.

The rubber bandage saved some of the work of binding with raflia andapplying wax or glue, but the work and time saved required increasedcare, as a result of which a longer working time became necessary inappyling the bandage, since the material used made it necessary to forma hole in the bandage through which the bud could grow if the buddingwere to be successful. In working with an elastic material on an unevensurface, a sliding or displacement of the bandage would cause the holeto get out of alignment with the bud and bind the bud in a manner thatwould choke it. Even where the bud was properly aligned with the hole,after a growing period of two or three weeks, a loosening of the closurehad to be made in order not to interfere with the growth, whereby therewas no material saving in time compared with the usual process.Moreover, the use of small clamps was expensive since it was necessaryto provide 2,916,852 Patented Dec. 15, 1959 a metal underlayer to holdthe clamps and 'to draw the band together.

This invention utilizes a porous elastic material sufficiently thin thatit will decompose quickly in the weather, as, for instance, it may beformed'of a very thin opposite to the set-in eye of the bud, serving asa point of resistance. A U-shaped pin or fastening member can be used,either for penetrating one or both of the free.

ends of the band drawn around the stock over the eye, so as to form aquick, easily applied band which will hold the eye in place and allow.growth thereof without interference. p

This embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an elastic band, with an attached pin, placedover the eye in the understock;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the band applied;

Fig. '4 is a view from the rear of the understock;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the applied band;

Fig. 6 is'a plan view of a strip of bands; and U Fig.7 isa sideelevation of a spool, with the strip of bands in position for winding orunwinding thereon.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 5, a suitable understock is illusstratedgenerally at a. This may be any suitable shrub, tree, rose plant, or thelike, to which the invention may be applied. In budding, it is theconventional practice to form a slit in the bark of the understock,lengthwise of the axis thereof, and a second slit at the upper end ofthe first one at right angles thereto, after which the bark is openedupslightly to permit the bud to be set into this opening, asillustrated'generally in Fig. 1, where thebud or eye is indicated at b.p I

It is necessary to maintain 'thejbark over the inner'ed'gfe of the budand to secure the'latter in a close fit against the side of theunderstock until the bud starts to grow. A band, such as indicated at c,is applied over the bud and should have sufficient tension to secure thebud tightly in place against the fundersto'ckuntil this union has takenplace. I prefer to use a very thin sheeto'f rubber for the "band c,"substahtiallyin 'the"for'r'n or 'a film, so that the bud b will growthrough this rubber strip, and moreover the strip will quickly decomposein the weather. The weathering action will cause it to be porous, andthis facilitates the growth of the bud through the rubber band c.

The band is applied over the bud, in the manner illustrated in Fig. 2,by drawing the band around the understock with substantially the midportion of the band over the bud. Then the budder can hold one end ofthe band in one hand and the other end of the band in the other hand andinsert a pin, generally indicated at a, through the substantiallyparallel and portions on the opposite side of the understock a from thebud b, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. The pin may be in place in theband After thus inserting the pin d through the adjacent ends of theband so that it extends in bridging relation between said ends,'the bandcan be released-and will adhere firmly to the understock under the bud,holding the latter in place.

I have shown and prefer to use a U-shaped pin, but it will be apparentthat other forms of fastenings can be substituted therefor, which can beinserted through one or both of the adjacent ends of the band. A needleor a single prong pin can be substituted for the U-shaped pin shown,although there are advantages for having the pin engagement at spacedpoints, which tends to hold the band uniformly over the bud moresecurely.

Such a band overcomes all of the objeetions to known methods of securingthe bud in place andit has many advantages in service. By choosing anelastic band of synthetic, porous, elastic material, sufficientlyfilm-like in thinness that the bud will grow through it and which willdecompose quickly in the weather, this may be applied and usedeconomically. A thin, natural or artificial rubber, film-like incharacter, may be used for the purpose.

The band serves not only to cover the'budding eye, as is necessary, andto hold the eye securely against the understock, but compared with othertypes of wrappings, both raffia and rubber, it has the advantage thatone does not have to be careful of the budding eye to get the eyecentered in the hole in the covering, because the-filmlike character ofthe rubber band and the porosity which soon develops from the weather,enables the budding eye to grow through the wrapping, eliminating theneed for a preformed hole or for positive removal of the band when thebud begins to grow. The band expands to any extent needed and, after ashort time, such as two or three weeks, it falls 01f by itself.

Together with the fact that it makes a very simple closure, this bandcan be very quickly and easily handled. The application of the bud andof the band can be made easily and entirely without failure by anunskilled laborer. Trials with unskilled laborers who had practiced onlyfor a few hours resulted in an improvement in the hourly rate of buddingfrom about 150 to about 450 wrappings, as compared with the best knowntype of wrapping used heretofore.

The band can be made, if desired, in the form either of individualbands, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, or in the form of an endless orcontinuous strip, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. In the latter instance, thestrip may be divided at intervals by creasing or scoring to enable theindividual bands to be separated from each other into pieces ofappropriate length, preferably with the pins in place therein, asindicated at d in Figs. 6 and 7. The strip may be wound on a spool,indicated generally at e in Fig. 7, from which it can be unwound, as theindividual pieces are separated from the continuous length.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in oneembodiment, it is recognized that variations and changes may be madetherein without departing from the invention as set forth in the claims.

I claim:

1. A band for wrapping buddings on understock com prising a strip ofelastic material adapted to be applied over the bud and around theunderstock, and pin members inserted through the end portions of theband in transversely spaced relation on the opposite side of theunderstock from the bud for holding the band in place.

2. A band for wrapping buddings on understock comprising a strip offilm-like elastic material characterized in that it will become porousand rapidly decompose in the weather and provide for growth of the budtherethrough during the initial growth period of the bud, and means forsecuring the ends of the strip together on the side of the understockopposite from the bud.

3. A band for Wrapping buddings on understock comprising a strip offilm-like elastic material characterized in that it will become porousand rapidly decompose in the weather and provide for growth of the budtherethrough during the initial growth period of the bud, and afastening device connecting together the ends of the strip on the sideof the understock opposite from the bud.

4. A method of budding comprising applying a budding eye to understock,thereafter securing over the budding eye an imperforate strip offilm-like elastic material, and retaining the strip in place over theeye during growth of the eye therethrough.

S. A method of budding comprising applying a budding eye to understock,thereafter securing over the budding eye an imperforate strip offilm-like elastic material, and retaining the strip in place over theeye during decomposure of the strip and breakage of the strip by growthof the bud therethrough.

References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS OTHERREFERENCES Publication: Popular Mechanics, vol. 95, No. 3, March 1951,page 122, article Plastic Tape Grafts Seedlings."

